Ministers will give £50m in funding as part of its Selective Schools Expansion Fund to allow existing grammars to extend their premises to take on more pupils.

The plans resurrect Theresa May’s policy to dramatically expand selective education, which was believed to be dead and buried after the Conservatives’ dismal performance in last year’s general election.

But opponents warned the decision would be “damaging” to efforts to boost social mobility.

Access to ‘good’ schools

Any grammar hoping to expand will be expected to show a fair access and partnership plan, which will outline how they intend to increase the number of children on free school meals (FSM) they admit.

Just 2.6 per cent of pupils on FSM are taught in grammar schools, compared with 14.1 per cent in all schools.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said the Government’s policy would “make sure every family can access a good school”.

‘Particularly important’

The move was welcomed by the Grammar School Heads’ Association.

“This is particularly important at a time when there are increasing numbers of pupils reaching secondary age and such high demand from parents for selective school places,” GSHA chief Executive Jim Skinner said.

Every grammar would receive just over £300,000 if each of the 163 grammar schools in England were to be given an equal share of the £50m pot.

Officials have said the schools will face “sanctions” if they do not meet the requirements to increase the number of places to disadvantaged children.

Research by social mobility charity the Sutton Trust showed that a child is ten times more likely to go to a grammar if they attended a private prep school than if they are on free school meals.

But the plans were condemned by teachers’ leaders, who criticised the additional funding at a time of tighter school budgets.

Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The grammar school corpse has climbed out of its coffin once again despite evidence of the damage that selective education causes.

“In the face of such overwhelming evidence, it therefore beggars belief that the Government has announced it will plough £50 million to expand the number of places at existing selective grammar schools.”

‘Damaging to social mobility’

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are disappointed that the Government has decided to spend scarce funding on expanding grammar schools.

“The evidence is clear that expanding the number of selective places is likely to be damaging to social mobility.”

The Government has also u-turned on its plans to lift the cap on faith school admissions for all free schools. Ministers had intended to scrap the 50 per cent limit on the number of pupils that could be selected on the basis of their faith in favour of allowing 100 per cent of students to be selected by their religion.

But the Department for Education will no longer go ahead with the plans, and is instead making money available to local authorities to open new voluntary aided faith schools with 100 per cent faith based admissions.

The Grammar Annexe

Last September saw the first “new” grammar school open since the 1950s when the Weald of Kent Girls Grammar School in Tonbridge, Kent, opened an “annexe” 10 miles away in Sevenoaks.

Under current legislation, no new grammar schools are allowed to open, but in 2016 the Department for Education gave the green light to the Weald of Kent to open on a separate site under the same name.

Since 2016, 17 grammar schools have applied to open annexes, including in Theresa May’s own constituency of Maidenhead, which opponents claimed was a “backdoor route” to expanding selective education.

Under the new measures, grammar schools will be able to apply to expand as long as they can demonstrate how they intend to increase the proportion of disadvantaged students.

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